Breathable infant support pad and head support

ABSTRACT

An infant support member, particularly for use with babies or smaller infants includes a padded base layer provided with spaced openings, a porous cover with smaller openings, and a head support member at one end of the base member for supporting and protecting an infant&#39;s head and neck, the head support member also including spaced openings and a ventilated cover for additional ventilation around the head portion, and releasable fasteners enable adjustment of the sides of the head support.

BACKGROUND AND FIELD

The following relates to infant seats and head supports; and moreparticularly relates to a novel and improved porous but firm infant seatand head support.

Infant seats with head supports are well known but the head supportsthat surround the infant's head can be extremely confining anduncomfortable. The same is true of the padding or base layer and it isnot sufficient merely to employ porous material, which tends to becompressed and therefore prevent adequate ventilation. The infant headsupports are typically designed to surround an infant's head with acushion or head roll that is not permanently deformable. For instanceU.S. Pat. No. 5,383,711 issued to Houghteling, discloses a head supportdevice that supports the lateral sides of the infant's head from suddenmovement or impact. Other examples of infant head supports are disclosedin assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,036,263 and 6,966,089 and there is ademand for a soft but ventilated pad surrounding an infant's head aswell as a ventilated base layer.

It is therefore desirable to provide a breathable infant seat for aninfant, which will not only protect the head and neck of an infant fromsudden movement or impact but also offer adequate ventilation of thehead and body so as to avoid suffocation and extreme discomfort.

SUMMARY

It is therefore desirable to provide for a novel and improved body andhead support for infants that is well-ventilated but provides adequatesupport for an infant, that prevents lateral and forward movement of thehead, and that aids in retaining an infant in a reposed, comfortableposition; and wherein the seat and head support can be used as a carseat, stroller, bed, or couch or on other flat surfaces.

In one aspect, there is provided an infant support pad with a paddedbase member adapted to extend along a substantial length of an infant'sbody and having openings at spaced intervals, a porous cover withsmaller openings, and deformable head support means includes aventilated cover layer surrounding a padding in the form of an uprightrail with spaced openings at one end of the base member for supportingand protecting an infant's head and neck. The head support meansperforms the dual functions of preventing lateral movement of aninfant's head while providing a flexible, ventilated support.

In another aspect, the head support is adjustable and includes means foradjusting the support member, such as, a releasable fastener on eachside so that the sides and distal ends of the support member can beextended inwardly to form a protective shell around the head of aninfant.

The above and other objects, advantages and features will become morereadily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the followingdetailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawingsin which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of an infant seat;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with side restraintsin a closed position;

FIG. 3 is an opposite end view to that of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the siderestraints released;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken about lines 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken about lines 7-7 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the underside of the support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT

Referring in more detail to the drawings there is shown by way ofillustrative example in FIGS. 1 to 8 an infant support 10 including apadded base member 12 and a head support rail 14 with side restraintmembers 16 to releasably secure opposite free ends 18 of the head rail14 to the base member 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the infant support 10 isconformable for use either in a flat or folded position in an infant carseat, stroller, baby carriage, crib, infant support seat, changing tableor any other surface where it is desirable to support an infant's bodyas well as the head and neck. In particular, the support 10 comprises aventilated base member 12 as well as a ventilated head support 14. Tothis end, the base member 12 is made up of an elongated pad 20 of asponge-like material of substantially uniform thickness having uniformlyspaced openings in the form of through-bores 22 which are arranged in adiagonal or other orientation or pattern throughout the greater lengthof the pad 20; and the pad 20 is encased between upper and lower mesh orperforated layers 24 and 26, respectively. The upper and lower layers 24and 26 are preferably composed of a cotton fabric or a syntheticmaterial that is waterproof for easy clean-up, and the upper and lowerlayers 24 and 26 have small openings or perforations P aligned at leastover opposite ends of each opening 22.

The outer layers 24 and 26 are of uniform thickness and terminate in areinforced surrounding edge or hem 21 that extends along the entireperiphery of the base layer 13. The layers 24 and 26 are united to thepad 20 by a series of seams 27 running diagonally in crisscross fashionalong the greater length and breadth of the base member 12, except forthe region within the head support rail 14 so as to divide the pad 20into a series of diamond-shaped or square sections each having a bore 22in each corner as best seen from FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, one of the sectionshas the upper layer 24 removed to more clearly illustrate the bores 22.The base member 12 is of a length to support a baby's or young infant'sbody, and a foot portion 28 opposite to the head support rail 14 may besolid or bifurcated to form leg portions 30 and 32. The base member 12also includes a side notch 34 on each side of the base member 12 beneaththe ends of the head support member 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, whichare designed to receive a seat belt harness or other safety straps, notshown, in order to restrain the infant in a seated position, forexample, in a car seat.

A head end portion of the base layer 12 opposite to the foot portionincludes the deformable head support rail 14, which is of generallyU-shaped configuration so as to follow the rounded contour at that endof the base member 12. The outside of the head support rail 14 isattached to the base member 12 by suitable stitching or seams along theouter, upper edge 21 of the base member 12, except along the free ends18 which are releasably secured by the side restraint flaps 16 as shownin FIGS. 1 and 5. The head support rail member 14 is designed to form aprotective, conformable shell around an infant's head, neck andshoulders. For this purpose, the head support rail includes an innerbody 36 composed of a spongy material which is generally rectangular incross-section with an upper rounded surface 37 and has a series ofopenings or bores 38 extending transversely through the body 36 atuniformly spaced intervals along the end and sides at the mid-section ofthe body parallel to the base member 12.

When the base member 12 is laying flat, the body 36 of the rail 14defines spaced inner and outer vertical walls 40 and 41, respectively,which are covered by mesh or perforated layers 42 corresponding to thecover layers 24 and 26. The upper rounded surface portion 37 is coveredby a finer mesh layer 44 which is sewn or otherwise attached to thelayers 42 along the seams 46. In this way, the most critical area interms of open ventilation is covered by the coarser or more open meshmaterial surrounding the head to permit the free passage of air throughthe bores 38 and perforations as represented at P. On the other hand,the mesh layer 44 may have little or no passage of air through it butprimarily covers the solid areas of the body 36.

The side restraint flaps 16 are attached to the undersides of the freeends 18 and extend downwardly over the sides of the base member 12 forattachment to the underside by complementary hook and loop fastenersrepresented at 50 in FIG. 8. By connecting the flaps 16 to the basemember 12 the infant's head and neck are supported against sudden orextreme lateral movements. When the flaps 16 are released, the free ends18 overlying the notches can either be raised or bent outwardly awayfrom the base member 12 to insert a seat belt or harness, not shown,around the infant.

In use, an infant may be placed on the base member 12, the head of theinfant placed within the support rail 14 and the restraints 16 beingadjusted to snugly fit around an infant's head, depending upon the sizeof the infant.

The spaced openings 22 in the padding of the base member 12 aredimensioned such that they will remain open when compressed, forexample, from the weight of an infant being placed on the pad and may bevaried in size over a wide range. The same is true of the spacedopenings 38 in the body of the head support. The spaced openings 22 and38 may be of different configurations so long as they do not undulyweaken their respective paddings. The openings or mesh sizes of thecover layers 24, 26, and 42 are substantially smaller than the spacedopenings just described in order to better diffuse the passage of airthrough the spaced openings 22 and 38 and lend some reinforcement to thebase member 12 as well as head support member 14.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the head support memberor rail 14 can form right angles with the base member 12 or simply layflat in an inclined or horizontal position. The head support rail 14 canbe composed of a semi-rigid or firm, relatively inflexible foam body 36to keep the head support upright and prevent compression of the opening38 and air blockage. Thus the semi-rigid or firm walls of the headsupport rail 14 will minimize any tendency of the base member tocollapse or bend around the head region of an infant and thereforeachieve better support, particularly in the upright position.

It is therefore to be understood that while one embodiment is herein setforth and described, the above and other modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and reasonable equivalents thereof.

1. A breathable infant support member comprising: a padded base paneladapted to extend along a substantial length of an infant's body havingan inner pad with spaced openings extending through said inner pad,outer upper and lower layers with means for positioning said spacedopenings in relation to said outer upper and lower layers; and headsupport means including an upright padding member at one end of saidbase panel with spaced openings therein, said padding member surroundingan infant's head and neck.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The Infant support memberaccording to claim 1 wherein said pad and said padding member areencased within outer perforated layers.
 4. The infant support memberaccording to claim 3 wherein said outer layers are joined to said pad atspaced intervals.
 5. The infant support member according to claim 4wherein said outer layers are joined to said pad by diagonal seams. 6.The infant support member according to claim 1 wherein said head supportmember includes a flexible body of generally rectangular crosssectionprovided with spaced openings extending therethrough.
 7. The infantsupport member according to claim 6 wherein said body is of generallyU-shaped configuration attached to one end of said base layer.
 8. Theinfant support member according to claim 6 wherein said head supportmember is U-shaped and said body is covered by an outer porous layer. 9.A breathable infant support member comprising: a padded base memberhaving a head rest portion at one end and a body support portionextending for the greater length of said base member; a substantiallyU-shaped head rail surrounding said headrest portion at the one end ofsaid padded base member having ventilation opening members extendingtherethrough and webbed upper and lower encasing layers with ventilationopenings and terminating in a reinforced hem surrounding said basemember; and said base member having intermediate seams extendingdiagonally with respect to said hem only along said body supportportion.
 10. The infant support member according to claim 9 wherein saidhead rail includes means for fastening said head rail to said basemember and having side restraint flaps extending between said basemember and opposite sides of said head rail.
 11. The infant supportmember according to claim 10 wherein said side restraint flaps extenddownwardly from said opposite sides and are releasably connected to saidbase layer.
 12. The infant support member according to claim 11 whereineach of said flaps includes hook-and-loop fasteners between said flapsand said base layer.
 13. The infant support member according to claim 11wherein said base member is provided with notches on opposite sides ofsaid base member adjacent to said opposite sides of said head rail. 14.A breathable infant support member comprising; an elongated flexiblebase member having an inner padding provided with enlarged openings atspaced intervals extending through the thickness of said base member,and of a size sufficient to remain open notwithstanding compression ofsaid inner padding, and an outer porous layer covering said member;seams dividing said inner padding into a series of diamond-shapedsections, each having an opening in each corner of said section; and ahead support rail of generally U-shaped configuration at one end of saidbase member including a padding member provided with spaced openingstherein of a size substantially corresponding to said first spacedopenings, and an outer layer covering said padding member includingporous portions over said second spaced openings for the passage of airthrough said second spaced openings and said porous portions.
 15. Theinfant support member according to claim 14 wherein opposite sides ofsaid head support rail terminate in free ends that project downwardlyand inwardly to form a self-supporting head support.
 16. The infantsupport member according to claim 14 wherein said outer porous layerincludes upper and lower layers encasing said inner padding andterminating in a reinforced hem surrounding said base member.
 17. Aninfant support member according to claim 16, wherein said upper andlower layers are united to said inner padding by diagonally extendingseams extending in criss-cross fashion along a portion of said basemember.
 18. (canceled)
 19. An infant support member according to claim14 wherein said inner padding is substantially thinner than said paddingmember of said head rail.
 20. An infant support member according toclaim 14 wherein said padding member of said head support rail isgenerally rectangular in cross-section and provided with an upperrounded surface, and a cover layer of a finer mesh size than said outerlayer extends over said upper rounded surface.
 21. The infant supportmember according to claim 1 wherein said positioning means includequilted portions along said base panel.
 22. The breathable infantsupport of claim 9 wherein said head rail is movable between an uprightand a horizontal position with respect to said base member.
 23. Abreathable infant support member comprising; an elongated flexible basemember having an inner padding provided with enlarged openings at spacedintervals extending through the thickness of said base member, and anouter porous layer encasing said padding terminating in a reinforced hemsurrounding said base member; said base member having intersectingdiagonal seams; said seams dividing said inner padding into sections,each said section having said enlarged opening adjacent to said seams;and a head support rail of generally U-shaped configuration at one endof said base member including a padding member provided with spacedopenings therein, and an outer layer covering said padding memberincluding porous portions over said second spaced openings for thepassage of air through said second spaced openings and said porousportions.